The article has been originally published on FutureChallenges

Soluy Hansen was a young adventurous woman who wondered through life experimenting different things in Cambodia but always believed in the saying that “everything is possible.” One such experiment was living in a pagoda and interacting and spending time in the jungles with monks who enriched her with the Buddhist philosophy and practice. Another was praying with members of a Muslim community at a provincial Mosque which cleared many doubts she had about Muslim religion. She also spent a few months with soldiers at the Preah Vihear province a border area where there were constant conflicts with neighboring Thailand.

All her experiences show that that she was willing to engage in activities which were usually a social taboo. Women in Cambodia are expected to stay at home, not to mention about living in pagoda or with soldiers. Her message to other young women in Cambodia was to get out of the comfort zone in order to learn.

When she spoke at a civic mobilization conference on June 4th, she inspired many others with her experiences. I was also amongst these speakers where I was also given a chance to inspire a great number of audiences; but instead, I felt that I had more inspiration from the other speakers whose personal life stories were very powerful and compelling.

Over the past few years, civic mobilization in Cambodia has gained momentum with the emerging power of digital and social media. Unlike in rice production where farmers awaited the rains for a good yield of crop, the young generations no longer await the initiatives from the government or civil society organizations to yield results.

They are taking their own initiatives through social movements led by youth groups and mobilizing their peers to be the agents of social change for the sake of their country’s well-being. Having attend some of these social movement, it is promising for Cambodia to see many young are very proactive and are willing to sparkle their dream for the country development.

A number of events including TEDx Phnom Penh, KhmerTalks, Cambodia Women in Business, and Barcamp Phnom Penh has been highlighted. Please read more on the original article published on Future Challenges

Firstly, it is about the travel itself. it is my first trip to South America where i have never experienced such a long travel. Yet, I would not complaint about it since other few members took longer flights than mine. It took me about 35 hours to reach Santiago by transferring through a various channels: From Niigata to Seoul of Korea, then from Vancouver to Toronto, and finally i safely arrived Chile where I first meet John Kennedy, Chinese Language Editor for Global Voices Online, originated from Canada but currently living in China. Only one indirectly mail correspondence, I and John managed to meet up at main entrance of Santiago Airport and we took taxi together to the hotel. My first meet-up with John help me to feel released for not getting lost alone in Chile. Thank John!!! |his name recalled me a joke by Tarek Amr, GV author from Egypt, who wrote in our mail correspondence:

Dear Mr. President – John Kennedy – would you please allow me to take a photo with you.

GV Summit Welcoming Banner at Santiago Public Library

Secondly, it is about first meet-up of Global Voice team. Exposing to a global environment within 2 years at my school, International University of Japan, where students from about 50 countries living in dormitories and studying together, it should be not surprised for me to meet global team. However, what is striking me about Global Voice team is the diversity of the members who are apparently migrating around the world. Nearly all members I met mentioned at least two countries when we introduced each other. Similar to John Kennedy and my case that I am Cambodian currently studying in Japan, an outgoing GV friend,  Simon Maghakyan, a native Armenia who is currently pursuing his study in US, jokingly introduced himself as Amernian. If the team would allow, I would call GV members as GV Immigrants.

It has been 7 months of my volunteerism as Contributing Author for GV that I have first met all the team who just communicated online. Asking myself how do I feel about this meet-up, it reminded me about my advise to a friend who asked what I am thinking if a Facebook friend want to meet her offline. My advise is that “Online networking is great, but when it comes to offline, there is associated risks.” During the summit, the organizers introduced a survey game which is perfectly matched my story. Questions are “does your parents know if you write for GV?” Some said Yes and some said No, but when it come to question “are they supporting your writing for GV?” An interesting GV member said “Yes, my mum supported it. But when i told her that I will meet the team in Chile, she quickly reacted that online friends are dangerous.”

I now believe that there are associated risks by meeting people offline. The risks here is the inspiration of many people from different countries who have been actively using online network to reach their vision and their communities. I have been inspired by a number of bloggers/authors/translators and especially I am impressed about how Global Voice is functioning and attracting not only contributors, but readers, followers, and donors.

Thirdly, my participation in this summit is not only in the name of GV author, but as regional researcher for Technology for Transparency Project aiming at mapping and evaluating technology projects that promote transparency, accountability, and civic engagement around the world. It is my first independent research tasks and I am obliged to give a keynote speech of the research result on “Southeast Asia: Good Governance Advocacy via Technology”. My meeting with all research team and donors give me more insight on how we should improve our research as well as to engage the project initiators together for more impact and project feasibility.

Last but not least, the Chile trip is my first experience to have Hamburger as my everyday meal instead of rice. Beside food, I love the view of this country since I took a glance from the plane where i could see a range of peaceful mountains. I enjoyed the view of Santiago from San Cristobal Hill (Vista de la ciudad desde el Cerro San Cristobal) and the people who eagerly and friendly asking me “Where are you coming from”! then “Hola, welcome to Chile.”

Vista de la ciudad desde el Cerro San Cristobal (View of Santiago from San Cristobal Hill)

Vista de la ciudad desde el Cerro San Cristobal (View of Santiago from San Cristobal Hill) at night

Published on UPI Asia Online, April 23, 2010

Niigata, Japan — Cambodia: The Rise of Citizen Media via Mobile Phone

Mobile phones have gained in popularity since 2000, even at the bottom of the economic pyramid, due to their affordability and indispensability. This is especially true in Cambodia, the first country in the world in which the number of mobile phone users surpassed the number using fixed landlines.

There are nearly 4 million mobile users, representing 26 percent of the population, according to the United Nations Development Program’s 2009 report, “Cambodia Country Competitiveness.”

Even though the population size and penetration rate of mobile phones in Cambodia are much lower than in neighboring Thailand and Vietnam, which have penetration rates over 80 percent, the Cambodian market seems to be booming, with nine service providers to cover 14 million people.

Thailand, with a population of 67 million, has only seven providers, while Vietnam has eight operators for its 87 million people, according to a report in Economics Today.

Cambodia’s excess of service providers may not be viable in the long term, but the competition has lowered prices and brought greater customer satisfaction.

Thanks to low prices, mobile phones have become indispensable in Cambodia, preferred over traditional communications including landlines and the postal service. With poor transportation infrastructure and a shortage of electricity coverage, mobile phones are the most convenient appliance, offering a range of services including radio, music, videos, and even Internet access.

Interestingly, mobile banking service was recently introduced to Cambodia. Now rural Cambodians can make low-cost payments and money transfers from their mobile phones.

Beyond that, mobile phones have had a great impact on mobilizations and collective actions, during the election campaign for example. Political parties use SMS text messaging, the cheapest and most effective way of widely spreading their message, for their political campaigns. Also civil organizations that monitor elections use SMS to communicate among themselves.

Probably due to its accessibility and vast penetration, text messaging in Cambodia was banned during the last day of the Commune Council Election in 2007 by the National Election Committee. Though opposition parties and human rights groups claimed the ban would hamper the right to freedom of expression, the committee claimed the ban was justified by the law prohibiting campaigning on election day or the day before, and it would prevent parties from using text messaging to mobilize rallies, thereby ensuring a quiet environment for voters.

Surprisingly, SMS text messaging partly contributed to the 2008 election victory of the ruling party, which had supported the earlier ban of text messaging. This is because a nationalistic movement coincided with the election campaign, due to a border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand over the Preah Vihear temple. This generated political approval of the government, which publicly denounced any invasion of Cambodian territory. Mobile phone text messages circulated saying, “Khmers love Khmer and should boycott anything Thai or with Thai writing on it.”

Another side effect of mobile technology is that it mobilizes people for human rights activism and social causes through SMS text messaging. When human rights activists were being arrested in Cambodia in late 2005 and early 2006, for example, human rights activists used SMS text messaging to mobilize public support to demand the release of those arrested and freedom of expression.

In other Asian countries SMS text messaging has become an effective means of disseminating information and mobilizing people. The spread of information about the 2007 Saffron Revolution in Burma was possible thanks to mobile technology; it led to a global mobilization to free Burma from human rights abuses.

During that time, a group of Cambodians wearing red shirts gathered to protest in front of the Burmese Embassy in Phnom Penh. Thanks to the widespread use of mobile text messaging and blogs, people around the world could join the same cause at the same time.

This trend, the rise of citizen media, is especially important in countries like Cambodia, where people who otherwise would have no voice are encouraged to disseminate information, organize events, and join social causes through mobile phone communication.

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(Chak Sopheap is a graduate student of peace studies at the International University of Japan. She runs a blog, www.sopheapfocus.com, in which she shares her impressions of both Japan and her homeland, Cambodia. She was previously advocacy officer of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights. ©Copyright Chak Sopheap.)

November 11, 2009

Niigata, Japan — Press freedom in Cambodia has gradually declined from “partly free” in 2008 to “no freedom” in 2009. But the same cannot be said if the medium of publication is the Internet. Rather, online press freedom is emerging as the new “digital democracy” in the country.

Compared to other media channels, news online and personal blogs are apparently enjoying more freedom and independence from government censorship and restrictions. A number of websites and blogs are disseminating news, entertaining the public, and mainly serving as a platform for political, economic and social discussions.

There are also an increasing number of young people in Cambodia, both male and female, who have joined the Internet bandwagon. While they come from different institutions with varying backgrounds, surfing the Internet for information, interacting on online forums, joining online social networks and creating their own blogs are reportedly their prime online activities. This emerging trend can bring some positive development in Cambodia.

First, it can promote gender equality, as many female Internet users indulge in online chats, social networks and blogs. Second, access to many news sources can enable people to increase their knowledge and enhance creativity. Third, it can increase the people’s awareness of global developments and make them better prepared to accept or critique changes in their own country that may impact their lives.

But the government’s philosophy of not paying much attention or restricting online access stems from the fact that Internet penetration is very low in Cambodia. As per 2007 statistics, only an estimated 0.3 percent of the population is connected to the Internet. This is due to the high cost of Internet connections as well as computer hardware and software that not many can afford. Besides, the level of computer literacy is also very low.

So Internet censorship by the government is minimal, as Cambodia’s Internet community is relatively very small and spending on technology does not benefit the government or the majority of the population. Besides, the current level of Cambodia’s technological knowledge is still limited.

Prime Minister Hun Sen recently rejected a proposal by a national commission to tax radio and TV users, which could prevent people from accessing the news. The government has also introduced its own website, with the aim of building a public service and disseminating information and news related to activities of government institutions. This constructive action reveals government efforts to facilitate and encourage people to access the media.

However, there have been crackdowns on websites in the past that have spoken against the government or revealed family information and business associations of Hun Sen and his family members. Websites and blogs showing pornography were also pulled down.

Although Kieu Kanharith, Cambodia’s minister of information, said that the government did not crack down on websites, there is a tendency to formulate laws to restrict websites that the government deems unfit.

The government is now working on a draft law on “broadcasting services used via electronic systems,” which intends to control broadcasting of audiovisual data, games, entertainment and online advertisement to conform to morality rules. Although Kieu declared that the draft law would not apply to news websites, it is doubtful that would happen, as the government in all likelihood would censor those news sites that it feels harm its political agenda.

With the government encouraging e-government and e-communication on the Internet, there is hope that there will not be another “great firewall of Cambodia” like China has for filtering Internet content, although the same is practiced by neighboring countries like Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

Should that be the case, the above-mentioned motivations are pointless and mean that Cambodia’s democratic system is not only gradually deteriorating but the country is beginning to lag behind other advanced countries in technology and development.

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(Chak Sopheap is a graduate student of peace studies at the International University of Japan. She runs a blog, www.sopheapfocus.com, in which she shares her impressions of both Japan and her homeland, Cambodia. She was previously advocacy officer of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.)

The afternoon session was very joyful since all participants presented their talents in role play connecting in IT-Blog matters. Btw, there were group discussion on various topics (see agenda) and I myself facilitated Gender Blogging discussion.

Once we arrived there we met other people including the famous guy Phatry Derek Pan, who accompanied by Srey Nim, then Lux, and clogger teams came later. The meat was so good, but it was not good as fried ants which were the best menu for these guys:

Geoff, David, Preetam, and Tharum said:
Please come and try this menu!!!

With David’s persuasion, Beth had a taste too. Then, she tried to pretend that she eat Chicken…! For me, this menu was ok, but once i watched the Animal Planet program which aired at the corner of our table , i started to feel…….

Anyway, It was a wonderful dinner.

The first ever Cambodian Bloggers Summit is being held in Phnom Penh at Pannasastra University of Cambodia. It is also my first participation in technological event as I am not expert at all in this field –International Relations is my major. However, I found this summit was even more interesting and it did not only touch on technological arena, but also legal and social associated.

- After hearing the case study of Young Bloggers (Deedee who expressed her angle and aims in creating the blog); “Citizen Journalism Vs Main Stream Media” panel discussion gave more thoughts on how blogs help to provide a space for journalists and the obstacle for them to access to blog (include language, internet cost, IT skill, and media freedom barrier). Though the panel raised matters of professionalism and rumor, it is questionable to have cyberspace law. At one point, some participants suggested that there must be law to rule the way of expression through blog to prevent misconducts; however, the experience of media restriction (through legal measures such as defamation, disinformation and other forms of threats) proved that the law will be the obstacles for bloggers.

- Next, Cyber Cambodian topic was discussed. Obstacles and measures to make the cyberspace available to everyone were elaborated through 5-point recommendations: (1) Government Policy—lowering the tax on IT materials import and internet service providers (2) Law—to guarantee and protect the rights of users (3) Infrastructure—adjust the rural and urban facility, even concerning to electricity accessibility and affordability (4) Content—make it easy for all users, language choices for example. Remarkably, the panel also pointed out the benefit of blogging for parliamentarians (especially for opposition party whose freedom of expression is also challenged).

- E-community: Mostly I heard about E-commerce, but now I learn new word of E-community. Thanks Mr. Chanthan for giving information on how E-community work and Phatry for sharing the KhmerConnection which is the e-community of Khmer-American where they can share value, information and keep connected.

- Social Web-Web 2.0 (Five Steps to Khmer 2.0) was presented by Beth Kanter. It was very interactive presentation and a lot of information sharing on how to find bloggers and specific topic through Technorati, what is the use of Tags, del.icio.us, and creative comment license. Beth raised a good and tasty example of Prohoc (Khmer food) to make audience understand and follow her instructions.

- Group Discussions: It was a little bit crowded before groups could be set up, until we can find a way to divide participants into groups—through asking them to gather according to their day of birth (as we required to have 7 groups, so as there are 7 days per week, it is perfectly settled). Interestingly, Friday’s group gained more members while Wednesday-Thursday-Sunday had to mix up, so we could only have 5 groups. The topic we discussed: (1) How to make a good blog? (2) Cyber Safety (3) Team Blogging — I was in this group; Firday’s group (4) Self-Censorship (5) Internet for what?.

- Debate on whether it is better to blog in Khmer or English. Sala (Khmer blog advocacy) was trying to convince everyone to blog in Khmer for the culture reason (Use Khmer language is the way to preserve Khmer culture); language barrier (many Cambodians could read and blog in Khmer if we could not understand English). Though Preetam somehow nodded his head when listening to Sala’s defense (the sign of agreement), he draw strong arguments that English blogging can reach large audiences which it will not be only read by Khmer by the world. Also he gained a lot of voices from participants who prefer to blog in English. They both convinced me to upgrade my blog in both languages and I hope to have my blog be visible in Khmer language in future.

Wow, I feel I learnt a lot from a whole day workshop. I whish to hear from other bloggers to share their idea or add to what I have mentioned. In addition, I would like to raise 2 issues:

- How we ensure the cyberspace as freest form of communication if the press law or/and disinformation and defamation are also applied?
- Concerning to geographic and accessibility, how we ensure that cyberspace is justified for social equity?